It is well-known that interior spaces for offices, residences and recreational-type vehicles are finished with interior walls. The walls typically comprise drywall, wood or wood paneling.
In the case of recreational vehicles, the interior walls used to be fairly utilitarian. This may have been due to a desire to save money and time in their manufacture and construction, and also to achieve weight savings and minimize fuel consumption for the vehicle.
Over time, recreational vehicles have become more and more home-like in their appearance and finishes. Consumer demand for higher quality finishes and appearances requires manufactures to continue to improve their products. In some cases, recreational vehicles can be lavish, utilize expensive materials and have a high degree of design and craftsmanship.
Manufacturers are thus faced with a problem between consumers demanding higher quality products with improved appearances and yet still being able to offer a product that most consumers can afford, that will sell and that minimizes fuel consumption.
For a wall covering, current vehicles might utilize a plywood sheet covered with a laminate material. Typically, plywood sheets come in four foot by eight foot sections. These sections must be connected together, such as by framing within the vehicle. The plywood sheets and their resulting framing can add a tremendous amount of weight to the vehicle if they comprise the wall covering around most of the vehicle interior perimeter.
The laminate material is typically purchased by the recreational vehicle manufacturer in very large quantities, and the bulk purchase reduces the cost to the manufacturer. The manufacturer applies the same laminate material across all, or most, of the walls requiring covering. Thus, the end users see the same type of material throughout the entire interior. For example, the same laminate material appears in the living area, the kitchen area, the bathroom area and the bedroom area. Consumers consider the use of the same material in more than one area drab and boring.
Typically, the laminate material is applied with an adhesive material to the plywood. The adhesive material adds some weight to the vehicle because of the large amount needed to connect the laminate to the plywood across most of the vehicle. The adhesive has to be applied, sometimes manually, which adds to the vehicle cost, as well as the time to manufacture the vehicle.
In view of the foregoing problems with the prior art, it would be preferable to utilize a lightweight material that is easy to manipulate and install. It would also be advantageous if the material possessed a high quality appearance that was customizable according to consumer preference.